Free Buses as Carmageddon Remedy

Free bus rides will be offered July 15-16 to ease gridlock from the 405 closure.

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In an effort to ease the inevitable congestion that will accompany the 405 freeway closure July 15-16, Los Angeles County's transportation authority will offer free fares on 26 bus lines along major Westside and San Fernando routes.

Buses along Venice, Wilshire, Santa Monica and Sunset boulevards from downtown to the Westside; a rapid bus connecting the San Fernando Valley and Westwood along Sepulveda Boulevard; and east-west routes throughout the Valley will be free.

Service on the Red and Purple Line subways and the Orange Line through the San Fernando Valley from Woodland Hills to North Hollywood will also have waived fees.

The 10-mile stretch of northbound 405 Freeway will be closed between Santa Monica (10) Freeway and Ventura (101) Freeway, and the southbound freeway will be closed for four miles between the 101 and Getty Center Drive.

The closures are part of MTA's $1 billion 405 widening project which includes demolition of the Mulholland Bridge in the Sepulveda Pass.

With an estimated 500,000 vehicles passing through on a typical summer weekend, the stretch of highway is one of the busiest in the country, and Metro is trying to avoid massive gridlock by offering free rides on any combination of public transit to and from Westside neighborhoods.

The authority announced in June that it will be adding 61 buses to eight major bus lines, including the 2 which links downtown to Pacific Palisades along Sunset Boulevard, and rapid buses that travel to Santa Monica along Wilshire and Santa Monica boulevards. It will also add 16 buses to late night service on some of those routes.

For a complete list of free and expanded transit routes during construction, click here.